NATCHEZ — The Natchez-Adams School Board provided the final financial puzzle piece Thursday to get the recreation commission moving.

School board members voted unanimously at Thursday’s regular meeting to pony up $11,000 for the Natchez-Adams Recreation Commission to match funding from the Natchez Board of Aldermen and Adams County Board of Supervisors.

Board member David Troutman said representing the public’s interest on spending $11,000 for recreation during tight budget times was a two-sided issue, but he ultimately supports the project.

“(The board) is in a hard place for (the public) wanting us to spend money but also be very careful with the money,” Troutman said.

Troutman said he supports funding recreation since the majority of the public voted to support of it last year.

Nearly 80 percent of residents voted last year to support a nonbinding referendum for city, county and school boards to work together to build a recreation complex.

Board member Thelma Newsome said she gives her full support to recreation.

“While the school system is not the business for providing recreation, it’s for our children,” Newsome said.

“I would love to see something on the bean field other than beans, cotton and corn,” Board President Harold Barnett said.

“I would love to see a recreation complex; we’ve talked about it enough.”

In other school board business:

The board heard a presentation about technology training from the company hired to show teachers at McLaurin Elementary, Morgantown Elementary, Robert Lewis Middle School and Natchez High School how to use Promethean boards and other technology. Promethean boards function like an interactive whiteboard that projects a screen shot of a computer.

Technology Solutions Provider representative Roxanne Batson said 91 percent of American teachers are behind their students in understanding and use of technology.

Since older generations did not grow up with technology like the current generation of school children has, picking up the skills requires a lengthier, hands-on learning process for teachers.

Technology Solutions Provider was hired this year to train the teachers to use the technology that has been installed in their classrooms.

Federal Programs Director Marilyn Alexander-Turner said by March 2011, every classroom at McLaurin, Morgantown, Robert Lewis and Natchez High should be equipped with Promethean boards. She said funding for the technology mostly comes from Title 1 and Title I American Recovery and Reinvestment Act monies.

School District Business Manager Margaret Parson reported to the board that the district is currently operating with interest from Section 16 land because the district has no cash.

The board agreed to accept $18,700 a year from Big River Farms Partnerships for an agriculture lease of approximately 180 acres of Section 16 land. Board attorney Bruce Kuehnle conducted an auction during the meeting between two bidders. Big River Farms’ original bid was $5,950, and Quitman Bayou, the other bidding company, had an original bid of $10,794.